Rise of Harry Potter
by KatHarkness-Katara
Summary: One boy gets suppressed too many times, and a light on the Globe goes out. Jack is sent to relight it. The Guardians are in ,for a rough ride.
1. Chapter 1: Things Go Wrong

**Rise of Harry Potter Chapter 1 Things Go Wrong**

It was Christmas Day. The North Pole was quiet, the yetis and elves taking time off after the increasing frantic efforts to prepare for the Big Night. Four people sat around the fire in the Globe Room – well, three by the fire and one on the nearest windowsill.

"Where's North? Shouldn't he be back by now?" the Tooth Fairy fretted.

"Relax," the Easter Bunny said, not looking up from the small plastic egg he was painting. "He's probably just easing off on the reindeer on the return journey."

The Sandman stuck one finger in the air excitedly. The golden sand above his head formed a miniature sleigh, then the workshop, then the sleigh again surrounded by whorls.

"The wind can tell us how far away he is?" Tooth translated eagerly. "You're right! Jack? Hey, Jack!"

"Hmm?" The teenaged boy lounging on the windowsill snapped out of his doze, propping himself up with his long shepherd's crook. "What's up?"

"Can't stay up for Santa Claus?" Bunny sniggered.

"You have any idea how much effort goes into creating a white Christmas?" Jack Frost yawned. "I mean, I've seen how tired _you_ are on Easter Monday…"

"Jack, can you check with the winds how far away North is?" Tooth asked.

"Sure," Jack said, and took to the air, flying out an open skylight. A moment later, he returned. "About five minutes," he reported, helping himself to a cup of cocoa from the kettle set away from the fire, not the one hanging above it. The creamy chocolate was as cool as a milkshake, but much sweeter. Nursing the cup, the winter spirit returned to his perch, cuddling his staff.

A few minutes later, as predicted, the jingle of sleigh bells announced North's return. Shortly after, the Guardian of Wonder stomped into the Globe Room and collapsed heavily into an armchair. Tooth poured a cup of hot cocoa for him, and Sandy placed a plate of cookies on his knee. "How was it, mate?" Bunny asked.

North smiled wearily. "A most successful Christmas."

The other Guardians congratulated him, but Jack noticed, on the Globe, a single flashing light.

* * *

In a small town in Surrey, two nine-year-old boys woke on Christmas morning. One of them charged downstairs, waking the other three occupants. He ran straight to the tree and tore into the presents.

The other boy curled into himself, hidden in the cupboard under the stairs.

Both boys were familiar with the story of Santa Claus. Good kids get presents; bad kids don't.

Dudley Dursley, despite being a selfish bully, always got plenty of presents. Therefore, in his mind, his actions were right and good.

Harry Potter, however, was victimized, starved, and locked away. He never got any gifts, and so Dudley had concluded that he must be doing something naughty. As all the evidence supported Dudley's supposition, Harry assumed it must be so.

But as Harry lay curled up, alone and hungry in the darkness, he realised something. He hadn't done anything wrong. Dudley, never the cleverest, had been incorrect. And as he wasn't getting presents, that must mean there was no Santa Claus.

There was no wonder in the life of Harry Potter. There was no hope, no joy in memories, no escape in dreams.

In the cupboard under the stairs, on Christmas morning, Harry Potter stopped believing.

* * *

Jack frowned at the Globe. He was sure he'd just seen a light wink out. He dropped down to the floor and tapped one of his fellow Guardians on the shoulder. "Bunny," he murmured, quietly to avoid worrying the exhausted North. "One of the lights went out."

Bunny stepped away from the others. "You sure?" he asked.

"Pretty sure," Jack nodded.

"Unusual for a loss of belief on Christmas Day or Easter Sunday," Bunny mused. "Unless something went wrong with the delivery."

"Maybe someone on the Naughty List?" Jack suggested.

"Maybe," Bunny agreed. "Where was the light?"

"England," Jack answered. He pulled the winds from the slight drafts around him and flew up to the Globe. He landed on the European land mass and examined the island. "A town in Surrey called Little Whinging."

"We'll check the lists," Bunny shrugged. "Probably a mid-teen who skipped class one too many times."

"Do the lists say who believes?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, and when they stopped," Bunny nodded.

"Jack, Bunny," Tooth called. "North's nodded off. Sandy and I are checking the dream clouds and my girls. See you soon." Tooth threw down a portal snow globe and flew off, while Sandy formed a biplane out of his dream sand and left via the skylight.

"He'll be out for long enough to nip down and grab his paperwork," Bunny decided, watching the sleeping Cossack.

"Race you," Jack said quickly, and took to the wind.

"Come back, you show pony!" Bunny hissed, giving chase.

Moments later, the pair skidded to a halt in North's office. They pulled open drawers and looted the files, before heading back to the Globe Room.

"Right," Bunny said, flipping through papers. "Lucky for us, these are done by location, their order on the route."

"If they make it on the Nice List," Jack nodded. "Surrey's quite near the Greenwich Meridian, so that's about halfway through."

"Got it," Bunny agreed, taking a large handful off the top of the pile. "This is Switzerland and this…" He took another load off. "…takes us to Canada." He divided the middle sheaf and handed half to Jack. "Let's find Surrey."

Jack took the pages and flitted back to the windowsill, leaning his crook against the wall to keep his hands free. Silence fell, broken only by the rustle of paper, the crackle of the fire, and North's snores.

"Most of what I've got is France, Spain, Portugal…" Jack mused, flipping over his last sheet. "You?"

"British Isles to part of Canada," the Pooka nodded. "Help me search this."

They located the right town and ran through the names. "Here's a couple of nine-, ten-year-olds. Piers, Dennis, Dudley, Gordon, Malcolm…"

"They all still believe, though," Bunny pointed out. "I don't see any names that have stopped believing in the last month."

"Must be someone on the Nice List," Jack shrugged. "Good job we nabbed that too."

Bunny snickered, and they spent the next ten minutes finding the right place. "Got him," Jack said at last. "Poor kid's only nine, looks like he's good as gold."

"What's his name?" Bunny asked.

"Harry Potter."

**AN: This is set nearly two years after Rise of the Guardians, and obviously a year and a half before Philosopher's Stone (Sorcerer's Stone). This is going to be a very long story, spanning many years. It will be updated in a few weeks.**

**People who haven't read my works before: I update every Monday (unless I'm late). I focus on my Batman stuff, but have expanded my repertoire somewhat of late. I publish three chapters every week across my range of WIPs.**

**For my regulars: this week the next chapters of Wayne's Boys: Flashback, where a little bird has lost his wings, and Little Bird's Vengeance, where another bird has problems to deal with. Next week, more of both of those fics, and the start of the third of my new Harry Potter fics, a crossover with Doctor Who called Time, Space, Magic.**

**Please review, my lovely readers.**

**Until next time,**

**Katara**


	2. Chapter 2: Investigation

**Rise of Harry Potter Chapter 2 Investigation**

In the two years since Jack had become a Guardian, he'd accumulated a decent number of believers. There was the group in Burgess, and other spots here and there in places with appreciable snowfall. It was Jaime who'd come up with the best strategy, a book called 'The Legend of Jack Frost' he'd been slipping into the libraries and convinced North to distribute to appropriate recipients. By then replicating the feats mentioned in the book, he could convince readers to believe in him. They'd bring their friends in, and Jack had a new knot of kids to spoil. Tooth, Sandy, North and Bunny coasted on the masses of believers generated by their holidays and constant labours. Which apparently made Jack the best candidate to win the heart of little Harry Potter.

Which was why, as Christmas Day ended, Jack was flying towards Surrey, a copy of his book and an emergency snow globe portal in his pocket.

As he rode the winds down through England, snow clouds gathered around him, dusting the land with white. It was a gentle snowfall, not the anger or excitement of a blizzard, just a pensive coolness. Britain would wake up to soft drifts of fluffy white.

He arrived in Little Whinging, and sauntered down the streets. He'd got Harry's address from the Nice List, but finding Privet Drive when all the streets looked the same…it was what he hated most about the suburbs. Finally, he located the right street. He noted the house numbers as he passed, idly tapping his staff against the bushes and frosting over the excessively trimmed hedges.

Number Four looked much the same as the other houses – except perhaps neater; someone had clearly taken great care over the garden. Jack flew around the house, testing the doors and windows – all locked. Not surprising for December, but frustrating. So instead Jack flitted around to spy on his target. There were four bedrooms, one the master with the sleeping parents, one pristine and likely for a guest, one a junk room full of broken toys, and one with a pre-teen boy snuffling in his sleep.

Jack perched on the windowsill and smiled as he watched Harry sleep. He seemed reasonably healthy, if a little pudgier than expected. Jack stiffened. It didn't fit. Not only did this boy look too well-fed to match the description on the list, he also appeared to be exceptionally spoiled. Children who got given everything tended to believe a little longer, as though out of a sense of entitlement. Jack scanned the room, trying to catch a hint as to what was going on.

His eyes fixed on a small green bear with a name embroidered on it. "Dudley," Jack muttered. "Not Harry, Dudley. I remember that name from the Naughty List. He's not Harry's brother, the surname's wrong. Did I get the wrong house? Hang on, that robot in the corner. That's the one North just gave Harry. Why's it here? What on earth's going on?"

* * *

Harry woke up cold, cramped and hungry. Hopefully he'd be allowed out today, and if he was really lucky, he'd get a half decent supper of left-overs. That was really all he could hope for.

Aunt Petunia rapped on the cupboard door, summoning Harry to help make breakfast. Eggs, bacon, sausages, and a bit of dry toast for Harry.

"Been snowing," Vernon grunted. "Boy, you'll clear the driveway this afternoon. Help your aunt around the house this morning."

"You can start with the dishes," Petunia snapped.

Harry looked at the mass of pans left over from the previous day's roast dinner. "Yes, Aunt Petunia," he sighed.

"I want to play in the snow," Dudley demanded.

"Of course, Diddums," his mother simpered.

* * *

"Maybe I got the wrong address?" Jack mused aloud. He'd got into the habit of thinking out loud during his long years of loneliness "Or maybe North got it wrong," he continued. "I might be in the wrong town. Perhaps the Potters moved and the records haven't updated." He caught the snowball he'd been tossing slightly harder than he needed to, crushing it and dropping snowflakes on his face. "I hope that's all it is," he muttered.

Jack was lying on his back on a branch of the tree in Number Four's back garden. He'd been there all night, contemplating the problem, eventually falling into an uneasy sleep. There were of course other options, Jack had been around long enough to know that, but they were by and large unpleasant options. Unfortunately, one of those seemed most likely.

"Wanted to visit Jamie and the Burgess kids," Jack grumbled. "Then that bunch in Montreal for New Year, and the ones in St Petersburg for Twelfth Night. But no, I'm chasing what's most likely a ghost in the paperwork."

He sighed. As much as he wanted to believe it, he just couldn't convince himself. Harry Potter, whoever he was and wherever he was hiding, was more important, no matter that a grumpy winter spirit said. Perhaps it was nothing, but it was Jack's duty to check.

The front door banged open, and Jack sat up. Dudley charged out the door, not bothering to close it behind him. Jack paused, torn between checking inside and following. But Dudley might know Harry, might even be going to play with him, and that was more important than satisfying his curiosity.

* * *

Dudley ran down to a park, meeting up with four other boys. Without the need for Jack's prompting, they started a snowball fight. Jack leant against the park fence, watching the quintet and listening to their chatter. Unfortunately, none of them was Harry. After an hour or so, the snowballs stopped flying and, at Dudley's urging, started making snowmen.

"So, where's the freak?" Dennis (or was it Gordon?) asked, and Jack's ears pricked up.

"Inside," Dudley grunted. "But was can have some fun with him after lunch."

The other four guffawed. "Yeah, think of all we can do with him and this snow," Piers sniggered. "It'll be lots of fun."

Jack frowned, following Dudley back to his house. He didn't like the implications of 'having fun' with this 'freak' they were talking about, but it didn't sound like what _he'd_ call fun. When they arrived, there was a little black-haired boy shovelling snow on the drive. Jack stared. Was this little urchin just someone working for pennies? He'd seen that often enough.

"Freak," Dudley hissed gleefully. "Better work fast, it's Harry Hunting after lunch."

The boy paled.

Jack groaned. So here was the boy he was after.

**AN: Poor little Harry!**

**Also updated today, Family Ties and Little Bird's Vengeance. Next week, Black and Red, Time, Space, Magic, and the epilogue of Family Ties.**

**Please review,**

**Katara**


	3. Chapter 3: Conference Call

**Rise of Harry Potter Chapter 3 Conference Call**

_Dear Tooth, North, Sandy and Bunny,_

_I've located Harry. The situation is complex and unpleasant. It's too complicated to explain in writing, and I don't want to leave. Please come to Surrey, so we can discuss what happens next._

_Jack Frost_

* * *

Jack curled up in the fork of branch and trunk. He was just catching a quick nap, staff hugged to his chest like a favoured soft toy. Without Sandy directing his dreams down pleasant paths (or Pitch Black weaving nightmares), his mind drew on the memories of that afternoon.

* * *

Jack balance on the car. Harry had a large shovel, the handle nearly as tall as he was. He slowly shuffled the snow into heaps, while Dudley was inside stuffing his face. Jack started to regret laying down so much snow overnight.

After some minutes, Dudley charged out the door again. He didn't go far, just to the end of the driveway. He glanced each way and smirked.

Jack called a gust of wind to give him an extra hop into the air. The other boys, Dennis, Gordon, Piers and Malcolm, were returning. The five formed a rough semi-circle between Harry and the house. Harry kept shovelling snow, nervously pretending to be oblivious. After a moment, Dudley shoved him.

Harry stumbled, and righted himself. Jack landed behind him, standing by his shoulders supportively, knowing none of the boys could see him.

"Think a little snow will protect you, freak?" Dudley sneered, grinning nastily.

Dennis took a turn pushing Harry, and the smaller boy stepped onto the end of the snow shovel, losing his balance. Acting quick, Jack grabbed the handle and iced the ground beneath. The shovel slid along in a manner reminiscent of Jamie's sled, Harry gripping the handle, eyes wide. Gently tugging Harry out of range, Jack landed him in a nice thick snow drift.

Dudley stared in outraged shock. "What did you _do_, you _freak_?!" he squealed.

Jack hissed angrily. "Leave him alone, you fat layabout," he growled, as Harry squirmed away from the group of bullies, protesting his innocence.

"Dad!" Dudley shrieked. "Dad! The freak was _doing things_!"

The father of the house burst out the front door. "Boy!" he yelled. Harry slunk over, and the father grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. Jack bounded over and followed as the father dragged Harry inside, wrenched open the cupboard under the stairs, and threw the child inside. "And stay there!" he snarled.

Jack sank to the floor while the father bolted the door behind Harry. For once, he was grateful for his invisibility, as it meant he could watch his charge.

* * *

"Hey, Frosty!"

Jack jerked awake at Bunny's call, and lightly jumped down from his tree to join the other Guardians. "Hey, guys," he said. "Glad you could come."

"What is it, Jack?" Tooth asked. "What didn't you want to write about?"

"I worked out why Harry stopped believing," Jack reported. "His guardians, and I use the legal term loosely, have been using him as a household slave. I'd guess it just…squashed the belief out of him."

The four older Guardians sighed deeply. "We have seen this before," North said darkly. "How did I not see it during the delivery?"

"There's another boy, Dudley, who lives here too. He's been on the Naughty List since he could talk; you probably thought _he_ was Harry." Jack shrugged. "I did, at first".

"What we'd normally do in this situation is try to get a child who still believes to get the attention of someone who could sort out a change of custody for the kid in trouble," Bunny explained. "Think you can find someone who could help with that?"

"I dunno," Jack sighed. "The other children looked pretty keen to beat Harry up. What else can we do?"

"Not a lot," North replied. "We guard the spirit; there's only so much we can do for the body."

"So what do I do?" Jack asked.

"Watch over him," Tooth said. "Keep him as safe as you can. Get him to believe in you. Find someone who cares for him."

Sandy waved a sheet of sand to attract their attention. He pointed to the house, then formed two small figures hugging each other.

"You'll send Dudley dreams to get him to be nice to Harry?" Jack asked. "Might work. Do you want to see Harry?"

"Oh, yes," Tooth said. "Is he cute? Is he sweet?"

"He's…small," Jack said evasively. "C'mon, I left the door on the latch."

He led his fellows round to the front of the house and pushed open the front door, then continued down the hallway to the cupboard under the stairs. He carefully unbolted it, and pulled open the door.

Moonlight streamed into the enclosed area, and Tooth cooed at the sight.

"Isn't he cold, mate?" Bunny asked, pointing at the single thin blanket. "I am, and I've got my fur."

Before Jack could answer, Harry's eyes opened, and he gazed, unseeing and confused, straight through his visitors.

* * *

Harry blinked in surprise at the open door. He'd occasionally found the cupboard unlocked when he'd thought it was locked, but never open. He cautiously poked his head out and examined the moonlit hall. Empty. Finding courage in his rumbling belly, Harry quickly snuck into the kitchen.

Opening the fridge door, Harry grinned. It was full of leftovers. He grabbed an old takeaway container from a stack of empty tubs, and started filling it. Some scraps of turkey, two potatoes, a slice of ham, a handful of peas and diced carrots, a spoonful of Aunt Petunia's chocolate trifle; a little bit of everything, not enough to be missed. The he grabbed a second tub and raided the cupboards for less perishable foodstuffs to save for when he needed them.

Finished, Harry crept back to his cupboard. He paused at the still open door. While he was gone, a thick, fluffy blanket had appeared. Mystified at his good fortune, Harry closed the door behind him and ate his stash. Curling up in the blanket, belly gloriously full, he fell back asleep.

**AN: Please, I don't want to hear about how I'm killing you with suspense. I already know that. If you want to hear about my theories for how the Guardians interact ('cause there's some pretty diverse versions out there), just ask, either by PM or on my FB page, details on my profile.**

**Also this week: Flashback, Little Bird's Vengeance.**

**Next week: Jason and the Argonauts, Black and Red, Time, Space, Magic.**

**Please review!**

**Katara**


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